Flaming gorge

I looked at the Lucerne marina cam this morning, and it was ice free, and a boat was just launching, sure wish I could get a few days off work. I envy whoever that was in the boat! Is the whole lake ice free? Thanks

Still some ice around but it's coming off fast. Hard to stay on top of the changes as a result.

I boated up from the Dam on Saturday and hit ice just up from Hideout Canyon near Kingfisher Island. Some canyons along the way were still iced up in the backs. I looked at Antelope Flat from the highway this morning and could see boats launching at Lucerne and heading uplake to Stateline and Pipeline. Lots of ice still out there, but it's mostly down near Antelope Flat and Linwood Bay and at the mouth of Jug Hollow. A good wind and it will be done. Unfortunately (or fortunately), it's just been warm and calm up here the last few days.

Thanks for the update. I was going to head that way next weekend but it looks like we have a good storm coming in again, so probably will hit it on Saturday and do a day trip. Can't wait no more have that itch.

Last year was my first trip up to the Gorge and we absolutely loved it! Been itching to get back all winter long and finally, it sounds like it's about time! One question, do the kokanee start biting this soon after ice off or is it best to wait a few weeks? What do you guys target this early, macs, kokes, or just bows? Cant wait to spend a lot of time up there this summer!! thanks!

"My biggest fear is that when I die my wife sells my fishing gear for what I told her I paid for it!"

Koke fishing gets better when water temps climb to the mid-50s. They can be caught this time of year trolling the surface, or jigging with spoons if you can find a concentration. They are typically close to the surface though, where water is warmest and food is more abundant, so you might not mark them. Rainbow fishing is usually really good at ice-off, reservoir-wide. Laker fishing is good to, dependent on the day and location. Pup fishing can be red-hot at Buckboard at ice-off.

Koke fishing gets better when water temps climb to the mid-50s. They can be caught this time of year trolling the surface, or jigging with spoons if you can find a concentration. They are typically close to the surface though, where water is warmest and food is more abundant, so you might not mark them. Rainbow fishing is usually really good at ice-off, reservoir-wide. Laker fishing is good to, dependent on the day and location. Pup fishing can be red-hot at Buckboard at ice-off.

Hope that gives you some options, Ryno

Agreed, you will find a lot of fish in the upper 20 feet of the water column that you will not even typically see on your graph. The last 2 years we have caught quite a few fish in April and May without using downriggers, the key for us with kokes has been lead core with one or 2 colors out, sometimes with them hitting it before you even finish letting line out. I think of it this way, the kokes are coming to the surface, and the bigger macs know where to find the kokes, set up lines for kokes and other lines for macs with them set 10-12 feet obove each other. Seems logical to me anyway.